Russia Visa - Fee?
 

Filled out application and will be going to the ILS center here in NYC. I can't find the fee on their website. Nor can I find out if they take credit cards. Can anyone help?

The ILS center appears to be a visa processing service. I have no idea what their markup is, but Russian visa fees are easily found on the embassy website:

http://www.russianembassy.org/page/visa-processing-fees

Do not count on using your CC if you file direct. I have yet to encounter an embassy that will take them. Cash or money order. This ILS place may.

I traveled to Russia in 2011 and the fee was $160, which appears to still be correct according to the website listed above. You'll need to determine if you need a single or double-entry visa. We purchased a double-entry since we were going to Ukraine during our trip and returning to Moscow.

http://www.ruscon.org/visa_dep_eng.html

That's the website for the NYC Consulate. I fortunately live in Houston so I was able to visit the Russian embassy here and did not have to use a third-party. Be aware that there is more to getting a visa than just filling out the application. I had to also pay for the paperwork from a hotel stating I would be a guest of theirs while in Russia. I paid about $40 online for a company to provide that for me (they emailed me a pdf file that I printed) - I did not actually have to stay in that hotel. There was other documentation as well so be sure to have everything.

If my memory serves, when I submitted my packet of materials for my visa application I did have to pay with a money order. They did not accept credit or debit cards. I preferred going to the embassy myself so I could address any concerns they may have, but I understand they are in a small number of cities so it is not possible for most people. I submitted my passport to them with my packet and they called me the following week to inform me it was ready to be picked up. I went back and they handed it to me, with the full-page visa stuck to the page. When arriving in Moscow the first customs agent wrote a big I and II on the visa and my first entry and second entry stamps were stamped onto the visa next to the corresponding number. Hope that helps!

The OP is in NYC. There is certainly a Russian consulate there, but it looks like they require applications to be submitted through ILS. This is the same technique the Indian embassy started using - unfortunately the second outfit they chose was a disaster. Good luck with ILS.

I have gotten our invitations from the hotel we are staying at for no fee.

I called the phone number of a page you directed me towards. Yes, the consular fee is $160; the Visa Center (ILS) fee is $33.00. Can pay in cash or money order or cashier's check. Not sure,however, if paying in cash means just the fee for the ILS center or that we could do this with the consular fee as well. I would make an appointment at the ILS center here in downtown Manhattan.

Yes, thursdaysd they require us to go to the ILS facility.

I got.it from ILS
..
IT is the cheapest way.
Paid in cash.

danon - Are you saying that all of it (including Consular fee), can be paid in cash when we're at ILS?

yes,
where I live the Consulate does not issue visas...ILS is (sort of) the
official agent.
I paid about 140 -150 including everything....they said the fees would go up in April.

I live in Canad, fees for US citizens may be differnt.


"Consular and ILS service fees are collected by the Russian Visa Application Centr
upon submission of the applications.
The consular fee is charged by the Embassy or Consulate General for consideration of your visa application. The consular fee varies depending on the category and type of the visa, required number of entries into the country, processing time, and the applicant's nationality.

The service fee is charged by the Russian Visa Application Centre ILS for the acceptance, processing and delivery of your documents to the Embassy or Consulate General, and the delivery of documents back to the applicant.

Consular fee and visa processing fee are collected directly at the Russian Visa Application Center of ILS Canada and must be payable to Invisa Logistic Services Canada Ltd. by money order, bank draft, certified cheque or cash ONLY."

Consular and service fees must be paid upon submitting of your application and, if the Embassy or Consulate declines your visa, fees are NON-REFUNDABLE.

YOW! If I fill out the application incorrectly, even with just one mistake, I lose $160? Thinking that since we have to make a reservation to go to ILS to submit the application and other paper work, they will look at it before it gets put in.

No,
If it is incorrect , they will not accept it for processing.

You lose your moony ONLY if you are refused visa by the consulate.

I made one mistake . Instead of taking the application home and redoing it,
they did it for me - for 25 dollars.